Gothenburg’s Sister Sin will release their new album ‘Black Lotus‘ later this month (October 28th) on Victory Records. You can pre-order the album now on iTunes [Here]. This week in The Hotseat, we sit down with the band’s guitarist Jimmy to answer our questions. Expand this post to take a read of his answers and take a listen to the single ‘Chaos Royale‘ from the album.
THE BASICS
Name : Jimmy
Band : Sister Sin
Job In Band : Guitarist
Website Address : www.sistersin.com
HOME
Hometown : Gothenburg
Hometown is best known for : The Gothenburgsound
Best venue in your hometown : Trägårn
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : Morbid Angel in ‘95
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : At Sticky Fingers in front of a packed house
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? The band was formed in 2003. Dave and Chris (founding bass player) started out seeking a singer. They auditioned a bunch of guys. But it wasn’t until Liv stepped in and blew their minds away that they knew they had something there. She absolutely crushed the other singers and so of course she was on board.
How long has the band been going? Since 2003. 11 years now and stronger than ever! The future looks bright for Sister Sin. We will be around for a long time!
Any particular story behind the name? The name Sister Sin was taken from a song with a Swedish band called Machine Gun Kelly. The band name was actually taken before Liv entered.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… Our latest release is called ‘Black Lotus’ and will drop on October 28th. This album is our best one yet. It has everything a metal album should have. The songs are varied and dynamic in many ways, it all blends together nicely and creates a solid and strong heavy metal album.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? We played Sweden Rock Festival last year in front of 4,000 screaming people. The area was literally packed from back to front. It was an amazing feeling!! The setting was perfect, nice warm weather with a gentle breeze. We then stayed for the rest of the festival partying and watching bands.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? When I picked up the Black Album with Metallica I knew I had to play metal. This burning urge came over me so I immediately got myself a guitar and started learning. I played constantly, day and night to learn songs and techniques.
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? I would say Pantera was a huge influence on me, especially ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’ and
‘Far Beyond Driven’. These albums were the heaviest shit I had ever heard at that time. And the amazing leads of Dimebag just swept me of my feet, I found my hero.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? My first band I had when I was just 13 years old was called Entrails. We pretty much sucked big time. I guess you could say we played death metal. We rehearsed in our school between classes. We also recorded a few songs; I still have that tape locked up safely in my vault haha.
Most prized music related item you own? I’m not much of a collector but I still have the first album I ever bought when I was 7. Asylum by Kiss. I really loved that album back then haha, it’s not that great today though…
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? I’m working my day job in a warehouse driving forklifts. Not a career choice by any means but it keeps the dough rolling in when we are not on tour etc.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… The anticipation of getting out there and play for our awesome fans!
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… Spending time driving between our shows. It gets to you after a while when you spend so much time on the road. But it’s all worth it in the end!
ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? Beer and water, the essentials for doing a great gig! I don’t really work out or anything, every show is like a marathon haha so I get dehydrated really fast and need a lot of water.
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? The US is always great. I love the different scenery, deserts, canyons, mountains. It’s just beautiful. Gotta say Europe as well, mostly for the great history and the old cities.
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? In 2006 we got the opportunity to play a festival in the Czech Republic. We were still a young band with no record deal. We entered the stage and played in front of 5,000 people. We only played weekend shows at shitty bars for 50 people around that time so that festival gig caught us by surprise to say the least!
Got a favourite song to play live? I love playing “Fight Song”, it’s just so easy and fun to play. And the audience always screams along and bangs their heads.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? Well, one time in Finland I had one to many drinks before the show. I played like shit and just stopped because I was so hammered. I screwed the night up for the others and of course for the fans. Never felt that stupid the day after!
Any pre-show rituals? No not really, I just try to relax and get in the right mood for the show. I don’t like pre show rituals; it would just get me stressed to have a thing I MUST do every night.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? To earn a living I must say, it’s expensive to tour. So making any money to pay bills is really tough. You have to make many sacrifices and it’s hard to plan your personal life around it too.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? Listening right now to “Electric Halo” by Kyng.
Last album you picked up? Burn The Serum by Kyng.
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Again, Burn The Serum by Kyng haha.
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? I would say Havoc. An awesome thrash metal band from the US. Really retro sounding but yet fresh.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? We are releasing our new album ‘Black Lotus’ on Oct 27th. So we will be on the road a lot for the coming months to promote the shit out of it!
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? ‘You Can’t Stop Rock n Roll’ by Twisted Sister. It’s a great album and I think we could do the album in a cool way without slaughtering the songs.
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? Wow, great question! It would be cool to hear Motörhead cover our 2nd album ‘True Sound Of The Underground’. There are some fast paced songs that could fit with Motörhead’s way of playing.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? Pink Floyd with the classical line-up with Gilmore/Waters. No question about it! Sometimes I wish I would have entered this world earlier. Experiencing the music revolution in the 60s would have been freakin awesome!
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? Maybe Tavastia in Helsinki or The Royal Albert Hall in London haha! Seriously, every venue is great to play.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest! One of my all time favourite bands and it sure would be a challenge to play all the classical leads.
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. Actually no one comes to mind to be honest, but any band that would fit musically and is willing to work hard being on the road would be welcome to join us.
PLUG TIME
Got any final words? Check out our new album Black Lotus! Drops on October 28th and it’s a masterpiece that you can’t live without!!
——————————-
SISTER SIN – ‘Black Lotus‘
Available 28th October on Victory Records.
Order now on iTunes [Here].
——————————-
Punknews.org